WRKS (105.9 FM, "The Zone") is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

licensed to

Pickens, Mississippi Pickens is a town in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 920. History The town was named for landowner James Pickens and was incorporated in 1858. On May 9, 1919, an African American veteran was l ...

, although its studio is located in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Launched on July 2, 2009, the station's format is

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

, with programming from ESPN Radio. WRKS is owned by Alpha Media through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC Debtor in Possession. Along with five other sister stations, its studios are located in Ridgeland, a suburb of Jackson, while the transmitter tower is in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

History

105.9 FM started out in 1980 with the call sign WXMR. (A variety-format, low-powered radio station in

Marengo, Illinois Marengo is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States on the Kishwaukee River. It lies approximately 60 miles west northwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,568. Geography Marengo is located at . The north edge o ...

has since taken over the WXMR call-letters.) On June 1, 1982, the call sign was changed to WLTD, then to WYJS on December 15, 1995. On January 16, 2004, the call sign was again changed to WOAD-FM with an

urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched pri ...

format as "Power 105.9". On July 3, 2009, the urban gospel format was dropped for a sports format as "The Zone" with the call sign again changing to WZNO. It had been owned by Inner City Broadcasting of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

until its bankruptcy in the early 2010s, at which time YMF Media took over the station. The WRKS callsign had been used for a New York station on 98.7 FM until its owner, Emmis Communications, flipped to an ESPN Radio simulcast and sold the rights to the WRKS name to YMF, which then transferred it to WZNO.FCC Call Sign History for WRKS
/ref> On September 24, 2013, the sale of WRKS and 5 other YMF Media stations to L&L Broadcast Holdings was consummated at a purchase price of $9.4 million. Since July 1, 2014, the station has been owned by Alpha Media, following a three-way merger.

References

External links

* RKS Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1980 Alpha Media radio stations {{Mississippi-radio-station-stub